For the full text of
Zaid Ibrahim's article in Malay click
HERE.
Below is our translation, which may not be the best but should do the trick for our non-Malay speaking readers:
Sept 3 - YB Nurul Izzah of Lembah Pantai is most gracious. She praises me as a Malay political leader who has the courage to be humble and principled. I thank her for this. Truth is though, there are many more Malay-Muslim leaders who are not extremists and practice humility.
They are courageous, people of principal and integrity. They are deserving of our attention & support. The Malay-Muslims of this nation need leadership that is humble and humane, such as that from Tok Guru Nik Aziz & YB Khalid Samad.
In contrast, Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein prides himself on showing the UMNO leadership and their cronies in Section 23 Shah Alam, Selangor that he is aware of the fate of UMNO's followers. These are the people who march with a severed cows head to protest the building of a temple because, in their opinion, the temple is too close to their homes.
Hishamuddin has felt no guilt nor apologised for these actions which both threaten racial unrest and insults the religion of others. On the contrary, he positions himself as a spokesperson for this group and says they never meant to insult anyone. Without a doubt, after his visit to the area, and his subsequent comments, the police investigation will be brought to a close without result. If racial tensions break out because of provocation from this group, will Hishamuddin have the guts to take responsibility?
In colonial times, before UMNO played king over this nation, the Kapitan Keling Mosque was built beside the Hindu Arulmigu Mahamariamman temple on Pitt Street in Penang. In front of the mosque was St. George's Church. The Muslims at that time prayed at the mosque, never feeling wronged or having their faith under threat.
They never slaughtered a cow and marched with its head whilst slandering the other races or religions. The people in power in Penang at the time were Christians. They had the right to forbid the building of the Kapitan Keling mosque and the Hindu temple beside their church.
They had the power. They could have said they felt uncomfortable and annoyed if a mosque and temple were built beside their church. They could have said their prayers would be interrupted or unaccepted by God if the mosque and temple were nearby.
But the English colonists never did that. In fact, the Kuan Yin Teng temple was also nearby for the Chinese. It seems back then, Malays were able to coexist in mutual respect with others.
In those days, Malay-Muslims never had to be taken to National Rehabilitation Centres to make them "realise" their faith and nationality. At that time there was no Utusan Malaysia newspaper, where writers like Zainuddin Maidin and his disciples teach other Malays to hate other races and religions.
If the population of Penang was multicultural, Kelantan is an example of a place where a Malay majority practices openness. It is because of the unique attitude of the Kelantanese that UMNO has never taken hold in the state, and with that, the fate of Malay-Muslims in Kelantan has been kept safe.
Their blood has not been polluted by hate and racism. The Malay-Muslim village spirit is still one of peace and politeness. Even when the Kelantanese make a false move, it never has to do with racism of religious hatred.
The Kelantanese go to their mosques for prayer but never feel under threat when they see the Buddhist temples in their area. It is only in Kelantan that the 3 largest Buddhist temples exist; The Standing Buddha in Kampung Balai, The Sleeping Buddha in Kampung Berok & The Lotus Buddha in Kampung Jubarak. All these Buddhist temples were built for millions of ringgit; and are within areas where the majority of people are Malay-Muslims.
But the Malay-Muslims in these villages aren't like the extraordinary Malays of Seksyen 23 Shah Alam. The village Malays of Kelantan heed Tok Guru Nik Aziz's call to respect other religions. They know that his teachings are based on the Quran which forbids its followers from mistreating other religions. The Malay-Muslims of Kelantan are not threatened when their government built a mosque in Rantau Panjang that resembled a house of Chinese emperor. In fact they are proud of the tolerance and openness of Islam being set by Tok Guru.
In truth, the Malays of Shah Alam should heed the advice of YB Khalid Samad, a truly humble Malay-Muslim who is aware of the demands and problems of the people in this diverse nation of Malaysia. Khalid writes bravely on his blog: "There are a minority who cannot even look at a temple of any kind. No matter how far off it is, as long as they open their windows and see the roof of a temple, they behave as if possessed. Is this extremist nature to be allowed in a nation so blessed with racial and religious diversity?" Drop by
www.khalidsamad.com should you want to know more.
Khalid & Tok Guru are among the few Malay Muslim leaders we should be proud of because they can stop this country from descending into the grips of racial and religious violence. I am certain there are many other Malay-Muslims who are humble but firm and truly practice the principals of fairness, trust and tolerance according to Islam. These are the people that we must listen to, not the racists and religious bigots.
